Death is fluffy
by Iwannagetitwrite
Summary: the doctor must find what is sucked heat from the local bully. who brought it here?
1. Chapter 1

Death is fluffy.

Eric is a boy from Rye, England, 1916. he is a short, skinny, blond kid with glasses. Ripe to be bullied. It didn't help that he carried a teddy bear under one arm and books under the other. He was walking home from school on a cool fall day. "walking home again Roger, glad I brought a coat. Well, I got an A on the test today." he sighs, "Do you think I should tell Dad about Brandon?" he asks the bear. He was surprised when a meaty hand shot out of an alleyway and grabbed his shirt. "tell what about me?" Brandon, a burly, baby-faced twelve year old, growled.

"h-h-hi, B-B-Brandon, nothing, just that, that you are really good at... stuff."

"yeah, right." he drawled, "so, why did you hide your test from me earlier, huh? You want me to get a bad grade, is that it?"

"n-n-no."

"good. Now just so you don't cross me again..." he pushed him further in and pounded him. The bear drops from Eric's hand during wails of pain. It lands next to a paper bag. A blue ball starts glowing inside it. It cracks open and a small slithering creature pops out. It sniffs and coos. It blinks at the bear and slides into it's torn leg.

The Doctor pushed buttons and pulled levers while humming a nonsensical tune. His companion Amy walked in feebly. "hello and good morning Amelia P... are you all right? You look horrible." he waves his sonic screwdriver at her. "not as bad as that bow tie." she quips. It clicks as he looks at it, "TARDIS fever. Don't worry, we can just pop over to Ralon Ra and pick up a cure." he returns to pushing buttons. Rory walks in, "hello Doctor. how are you feeling Amy?" she barfs in response.

"Amy! All over the floor? Now you'll get her sick. Go lay down or you'll make it worse. And my bow tie is cool!" the doctor called after her.

Rory helps her out and comes back with a mop and bucket. "TARDIS fever? It looked like the common cold to me."

the doctor shrugs, "same thing."

"what?"

"it is actually TARDIS fever, my fault really. I landed in a cave in southern wales in the year 124 and the humans caught it. Sorry."

Rory sighs, "is there a cure?"

"yes, in the year 2167. it took you lot a while. Now hang on!"

the TARDIS sways, tossing the bucket of water.

"doctor!"

"oh, we'll clean it up later!"

Eric opens the door to his house and runs up the stairs. He slams the door of his room, his father, Andrew sighs. The chair creaks as he gets up to follow. He opens the door to see a lump under the blanket. The bed squeaks as he sits, "let me see." a muffled "no" sounds. He pulls the blanket away to see a bloody, beat up face. "what happened?" Andrew asked while dipping a rag in a bowl of water. "Brandon punched me" he inhales sharply, "it was an accident."

"repeatedly? Truth."

"he beat me up because I didn't let him cheat off of me."

"I see. Hold still."

"why do, ow, people hurt you when you, ow, do the right thing?"

"because... people who build a reputation as a bad guy tend to want to keep that than become a better, smarter person."

"really?"

"there might be more reasons but I can't think of them all."

"okay."

"all better. Now get some sleep. I'll talk to Brandon's parents in the morning."

"good night."

"good night son."

the door closes, Eric pulls his bear from under the covers. "I can't wait to move to America. No more Brandon." he yawns and falls asleep.

A broken copy of his voice comes from the bear, "n-n-no more Brrrandon."

The TARDIS lands with a thump on a soft patch of grass. You could hear sheep in the background. The door opens to let the Doctor out. He sniffs the air, "sheep. Lots of sheep. Anyway, wait, not again. Why don't we go where I want to go?" he yells at the inside of the TARDIS. The response was a loud sneeze. "fine, come on! Let's find you some chicken soup." he says. His companions follow behind, Amy sneezes again. "so, what is the cure for TARDIS fever?" Rory asks.

"turns out it was chicken soup, with Ralim flowers. Instant cure, of course you have to eat a whole bowlful. Nasty flavor." the Doctor gags.

"do we have any on the TARDIS?" Amy asks.

"the flowers. No soup, just sandwiches. We had freeze dried soup but he didn't ask and now it just spits out haggis."

"he who?" Amy asks.

" 'ello there!" an old farmer calls to them, "funny lookin' box, just commin' out'a nowhere. You visitin'?" he coughs heavily.

"um, yes. Could you tell us where the nearest pot of chicken soup is? She has a cold." Rory asks.

"yeh, she looks ill all right. The wife could fix up somethin' for 'er. Just up the hill. Follow me" he gets up and walks to a house.

"just sit down deary, I'll make you something. Tea?" the farmers wife asks the men. The Doctor denied but Rory accepted. "oh, honey, this morning I went to town for some flour and I ran into Mrs. Ramsey and she told me that a boy died a few days ago. She said that the strange thing was the lake the boy was found in was frozen over but the thing was it was the only one. All the other lakes didn't. Could you believe that?"

the Doctor perked up, "where was this?"

"in Rye, just a few miles from here. Why do you ask?"

"I have quite an interest in unexplained deaths."

"really? What about your friends?"

"we don't have a choice." Rory comments. Amy smacks him. "ow."

"well, I'm off to Rye! Rory stay here and nurse your fiance back to health." The Doctor walks out the door. He comes back in, "which way is it?"

the old man laughs, "don't ya worry none. I'll take ya." they leave.

"you two are getting married? Congratulations, so, what are your plans?"

"that's a little complicated..." Rory states.

"my girl, she says that she wants me to get a different job. Then I told her that... hey! Who are you?" the medical examiner asked when the doctor strolled in.

he flips open the psychic paper, "Doctor John Smith, Scotland yard, unexplained division. Let's see what we have here."

"no one told me. What division again?"

"the unexplained one. I am a special task force for solving any cases that need my attention."

"what?"

"now, let's see the body!"

"of course, you see Scotland yard already sent someone and they said nothing about you."

"yes, yes, yes."

they open the door to the ice room that held the body, "we're still waiting for the body to thaw. I don't know what you expect to find."

"that's the problem, you people expect to find something."

"what? This guy makes no sense." the second MD whispers.

"this is why I don't work in the city." the first whispers.

"I need names." The Doctor orders.

"the boy's name is..." Dr. Manra begins.

"your names! Companions need names."

"I'm Dr. Ramsey, this is Dr. Manra." the first introduces.

"nice to meet you both!" The Doctor hums while scanning with his sonic screwdriver. He makes pleased and intrigued noises. "ah ha! Yes!"

"what is it?" the first asks.

"nothing!"

"how is that a good thing?"

"you see if there was any microscopic movement within the cells then... you have no idea what I'm saying do you."

"nope." "not a clue." they said in unison.

"okay. All of the energy got sucked out of him. The heat energy at least. Now where is the lake he was fished out of?"

"I'll take you." the second offers.

"fantastic! No, wait, Geronimo!"

Eric sniffles under the stairs. Andrew peeks down, "hey, what are you doing down there?"

"nothing."

"you sure?"

"no." he bursts into tears, "it's all my fault!"

"what is?" his dad comes down and hugs him.

"Brandon's dead and it's all my fault. All my fault."

"no, no, no son. What happened to him wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"yes it is! I wanted something to happen to him and it did! I wanted him to stop hurting me and now he's dead!" he cried until the hiccups stopped him.

"breathe, breathe, okay slow down. Now, this was not your fault at all. Despite what some people think you can't wish someone dead by not being specific, or by being specific."

"are you sure?" the boy asked between hiccups.

"ninety-five percent sure."

"and the other five percent?" he sniffs.

"nothing's a hundred percent."

"that doesn't help a lot."

"I know. But nature isn't your fault. Come on, let's get lunch ready."

"okay." they stand and head into the kitchen.

The sonic screwdriver whirrs as the Doctor walks about the ice. "yes, I see. That's perfect, horrible but perfect." he mumbles to himself.

"what is it?" the Mr. Manra asks.

"my screwdriver tells me that the deed was done by a nageria somo, also known as a heat viper from fran kekaramajo. How it got on earth is the bigger question."

"what are you talking about?"

"a heat viper is an energy vampire. They can eat the heat from up to a two whole kilometers. The adults at least, this one could be only a hatchling. But why?"

"why what?"

"why would it attack a human?"

"look here, either you're crazy and this is a waste of time or you're right and we're all gonna die."

"I could be both." the doctor replies cheerily.

"honestly I would rather you be mad than right."

"why?"

"if you're mad than I'm being paid to waste time. Better alternative than getting the life sucked outta me."

"done that, it hurts more with a straw."

"what?" the ME asked, confused.

"now, where did it come from, where is it, how did it get here, and why? If possible, not in that order." the sonic screwdriver buzzes.

"now class, settle down." Mrs. Waver told her chattering class. Some persisted while other move to the desks. When all was quiet, "I know that the death of Brandon has hit us all very hard, but life must go on. Now, open your history books to page 125." the books are opened and pages flipped.

Sarah looks at Eric's bear, "psst, Eric, psst."

"what?" he whispered back.

"I didn't know your bear could do that."

"do what?"

"its eyes were glowing."

"are you sure?"

Mrs. Waver interrupts, "please be quiet. Can anyone tell me what happened during the Renaissance era?" several hands shot up. "Nancy." a girl answers the question.

"it never glowed before." Eric whispers.

"really? It was a minute ago."

"maybe your head is tricking you."

"I don't think so."

"would you two like me to move you?" Mrs. Waver asks loudly.

"no Mrs. Waver." came the unanimous answer. She continues with the lesson.

"I'll prove it at recess." Sarah whispers resolutely.

Children laugh and play in the background. "here, put it on the stump. Now, let's watch." Sarah orders. After a moment, "nothing. Are you sure Sarah?" Eric teases.

"look!"

Eric gasps, "that's not supposed to happen."

"told you."

"fine, now what?"

"I don't know. Think we should tell someone?" she asks.

"who?"

"your father?"

he thinks, "maybe. He'll have an answer at least." he mumbles, "not that it would make sense."

"okay, let's tell him after school."

"I'll put Roger away then we can play." he runs to the school and places the bear next to his backpack. He runs back out, laughing. A broken voice comes from the bear, "Al-l-lone. Hun-grry."

Andrew looked up from his work and sees a young man with a bow tie and Doctor Manra. "may I help you?" Andrew asked, shaking hands. The energetic young man shook his hand and waved a noisy glowing wand in his face. "yes, I'm the Doctor. By the way, have you come into contact with a heat viper lately?" Andrew looks at Manra, who shrugs. "what is that?" he asks the Doctor.

"a heat sucking thing from space that killed the boy in the lake." Doctor Manra answers.

"basically." the Doctor concedes.

"it's from space?"

"yes."

"it killed the boy?"

"yes, we've been over this. Now have you been near one?"

"I wouldn't know if it bit me."

"you'd be dead if it bit you. It doesn't usually attack though."

"what does it look like?"

"it's an energy creature that looks kind of like a ghost snake."

"okay. Yeah... no. I haven't seen any ghost snakes. Sorry."

"do you mind bringing me home?" the Doctor smiles expectantly.

"what?" Andrew asked surprised.

"take me home. I can't find anything here."

"okay," he drawled,"I don't think you'll find anything there either. But, I've just got some papers to do, then we'll head over." he smiles and returns to his papers. The Doctors leave.

"here's the sitting room. This is the kitchen and the stairs leads to the beds and bath."

the screwdriver buzzes, "it was definitely here. It's been all over. How have you not seen it?" the Doctor questions incredulously. "where is it?" he asks, searching high and low. The door opens, "hey dad, what's going on?" Eric asks, closing the door behind him. The Doctor waves the screwdriver in his face. He looks at it, "close contact. Have you seen any heat vipers lately?"

"dad, what is he talking about?"

"it's okay, I'm still not sure though. A ghost snake from space, I think." Andrew picks him up.

"really?"

"that's what he says."

"is that what killed Brandon?" Eric seems worried now.

"he says that too."

"why would it do that?"

"well you see," the Doctor began, "they are normally shy creatures that only attack when they are threatened."

"do you think this has something to do with Roger?"

"who's Roger?"

"his stuffed bear." Andrew explained, "his mother, my wife gave it to him just before she died. He takes it with him everywhere."

"where is it now?"

"in my backpack." Eric points to it. Dr. Manra pulls it out, "this bear?"

he tosses it to the Doctor, who scans it. "it's not here. It looks like it was nesting inside. Where is it? Where were you last?"

"at school."

"everyone, we're going back to school!" he jumps and dashes out the door. He comes back in, "come on, I can't be brilliant if I have no witness'!" he speeds off.

"crazier than anyone I've seen in a jacket. Let's get moving." Dr. Manra comments. they follow quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor scans around, "this way!" they dash towards the back of the school. They followed the trail, seeing a blue glow in the distance. "I see it!" Andrew yells. The leaves crumple under their feet. The glow stayed ahead for several minutes. "it stopped over there!" Dr. Manra huffs, "you guys go get it, I'll nap over here for a minute." he lays down. The Doctor catches up to the creature. He kneels down and scans it. Andrew and Eric lean over it. "stop! Back up, back up! Stay there, now, this is a very hungry viper." The Doctor tries to pick it up but it nips him, "ow! Not me, No nip!" it falls to the ground and squirms away feebly. The broken voice comes from it, "hun-n-gry." He takes off his jacket and wraps it up, "there now, it's okay." he holds like a baby in his arms. "can I see?" Eric asks. He tilts the bundle so he could look at it. "it's kind of cute, if you like glowing snakes." the boy comments. It looks up and squeaks brokenly, "I Ro-Ro-ger. Co-co-cold."

"wait, it thinks it's Roger?" Andrew asks.

"apparently. Let's get you home buddy." the Doctor sways it. They walk back to Dr. Manra.

"you get it?" he grunts.

They pass him, heading to the car. He grunts up and follows.

"What's that?" Eric asks over the car.

"my TARDIS, wanna peek?" The Doctor answers.

"TARDIS? Looks like a police box to me." Dr. Manra yawns from the back.

"I know. She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"she? To each his own." the car stops and they climb out.

The Doctor hands the bundle to Eric, "here, careful. It's only a baby." the boy stood frozen in place, fearful of waking it. It shivered and twisted to look at him, squeaking painfully. The door opens and they walk in. "whoa" the three marvel at the size.

"I've gone mad. It's the only answer." Dr. Manra says shaking his head.

"wait til you see where we're going." The Doctor states gleefully. He tosses leavers and the TARDIS comes to life. They wobble around and Eric panics when he almost drops it, "no, no, no." the TARDIS thumps as it lands. "Hey, be careful!" The Doctor opens the door and they walk out to see volcanic ranges. Some spat out gigantic pillars of smoke and ash. Magma flowed in rivers down the sides. A faint blue glow was moving about the top of one. Father and son stared in awe.

"I'm staying in here if you don't mind. You go melt out there." Dr. Manra said walking back in.

"do we have to go up there?" Andrew asks.

"no." The Doctor waves his sonic screwdriver in the air. The creatures turn towards the noise, coming closer. He looks at Eric, "go on. Give him back." the boy walks forward and lays down the jacket, then steps back to let them sniff. The infant squeaks weakly. The biggest one reaches out and picks it up in it's wide jaws. As it was carried off, Eric turned to the Doctor, "do you think it'll be okay?"

The Doctor sighs, "I don't know."

"why do I feel sorry for it even though I know that it killed Brandon?"

"it was just a baby. It didn't know any better."

"why did it do it?"

"what would you do if your father was threatened?"

Eric thinks, "it was protecting me? His death was my fault?" he began to cry.

"come here. No, it's not. It made a choice. You can't blame yourself for what it did." Andrew hugs him.

"would you?"

"what?"

"would you blame yourself if I killed someone?"

"honestly? Yes. Telling ourselves the truth doesn't always make us stop though."

"I want to go home."

"can we?" he asks the Doctor.

"let's take you home." the door closes behind them and the TARDIS starts up.

The TARDIS lands in the field and the door opens. The Doctor pops out to see Amy's frowning face.

"hello Amy. How long was it this time?" The Doctor smiles guiltily.

"two weeks."

"ah, and Rory?"

"he caught it."

"ah."

"excuse me. I have a paycheck to collect." Dr. Manra squeezes out. The Doctor steps aside and the men come out. Eric slept over Andrew's shoulder. "little guy cried himself to sleep. I'm going home to do the same." he looks around, "where's the car?"

"at the farmhouse. Didn't want rain to get in it."

"thank you."

Amy nods, "this way." she walks away from The Doctor with a huff. He follows like a punished puppy.

"oh the poor deary. Give him here, I'll put him to bed." the farmer's wife says, taking the boy.

"what? On my bed?" the Farmer complains.

"the way you been drinking? Not tonight it's not." she retorts.

He grumbles while Amy snickers. Rory looks at The Doctor, "where's your..." he sneezes, "jacket?"

"on fran kekaramajo."

"where?"

"why didn't you leave the bow tie?" Amy asked, tugging on it.

"because it's cool. Let go. Hey!" he yelled as she yanked it off and threw it in the fireplace. He scrambles over and digs it out. He blows it off and puts it back on.

"Rats. I thought that would work." Amy mumbles under her breath.

"now, have any soup?"

"right here. For two weeks." Amy growls.

"yes, sorry you two. Let's get going." he jumps up and drags Rory out of his chair.

Amy shakes the farmer's hand.

"you're welcome. Next time could you bring brandy instead of a cold, sweetheart?"

"I'll try to next time."

"good girl." Amy leaves and his wife walks over, smacking his arm.

"no she's not."

a lady with red hair is watching a screen. Buttons blinked on the console in front of her. she could see the Doctor and his companions squabbling as they entered his TARDIS. A door opened behind her, "mommy, I'm home."

"I know Sarah."

"did they find it?"

"yes, you did a good job. Where was the flaw? Why didn't it work?" she asked herself.

"perhaps his heart is too big?"

"he has two hearts, like you and I, sweetheart." she pauses to think, "but that could be his weakness."

"can I have an orange?"

"you may." the girl leaves. "I will have my revenge Doctor. The Rani will have her revenge." she gives an evil cackle as the TARDIS on the screen vanishes.

The end?


End file.
